What Are Some Good Topics for an Essay About John F. Kennedy?

The life and death of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, often referred to simply as JFK, offers a number of intriguing ideas for an essay. JFK was born into a wealthy family that already had great political ambitions before John was even born. Writing an essay related to Kennedy offers the chance to cover his life before becoming President, a number of significant events that occurred during his presidency and the insistence upon many that his death remains shrouded in mystery despite all evidence to the contrary.

Did JFK Really Write "Profiles in Courage"?
Mystery continues to hang over an episode of JFK's life before his assassination and the evidence that the official story may not be entirely true is far more substantial than any assassination conspiracy. John F. Kennedy was the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for his book "Profiles in Courage." Rumors have swirled since its publication that Kennedy did not actually write most of the book. It may even be possible that he failed to write a single word himself. One of the primary suspects as the real author of "Profiles in Courage" is his speechwriter, Theodore Sorensen. The focus of this essay could be an investigative effort to determine if JFK wrote it or not or it could take an approach that considers how significant the book and the award was to JFK's route to the White House.

Comparison of Kennedy and Khrushchev
The two towering figures associated with the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 are JFK and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. The Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world as close to the brink of all out nuclear war as it has ever been. Khrushchev attempted to position nuclear missiles in Cuba, thereby significantly decreasing the time that it would require to strike the United States. JFK met this threat with a blockade that eventually boiled down to a situation in which the first man to blink would be declared the loser. Khrushchev blinked by backing down and removing the missiles. Write an essay that compares and contrasts the performances of JFK and Khrushchev throughout this tense Cold War episode.

Kennedy/Nixon Debate
The 1960 Presidential election between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy ended as one of the closest in history. It has been suggested that one of the tipping points toward JFK was his performance in a televised debate. A majority of radio listeners believed that Richard Nixon had won the debate. A majority of the much larger television viewing audience called JFK the winner. The difference between these two opposing viewpoints was the pale, sweaty and sickly appearance of Nixon versus the calm, cool and collected Kennedy. Write an essay that examines how important this debate was to the result of the election. Another idea would be to research whether the generally held belief that Nixon won with listeners while JFK won with viewers is accurate.

Disproving the Magic Bullet
JFK assassination conspiracy theories refute the idea that one bullet did so much damage and refer to it as the Magic Bullet. Research into the concept of a magic bullet only holds true if John Kennedy was seated directly behind Gov. John Connolly and if they were both situated at the same height. Write an essay which considers the concept of the necessity of the Magic Bullet when it is learned that JFK was actually sitting three inches higher than Connolly and was centered six inches to the right.

Sources:
Refuting the Magic Bullet
Cuban Missile Crisis
Nixon/Kennedy Debate